Today we celebrate the Venerable Sava the Sanctified. At five years of age, Saint Sava’s parents left him in the care of his uncle as they went journeying for military matters. When he turned eight, Sava entered into a monastery where he quickly learned how to read, and thus became engrossed in the Holy Scriptures. When his parents returned from their journey, they urged their son to leave the monastery, but he remained unyielding. At seventeen years of age, Sava was tonsured a monk and already had attained such perfection that the Lord granted him the gift of wonderworking. The Saint lived at this monastery until he was thirty years old. After the death of his elder, Sava received the blessing to live as a hermit in a cave. On weekends he would return to the monastery to participate in the Divine Services, but after a certain time, he received the blessing to remain constantly in his cave. He struggled this way for five years in extreme asceticism and fasting. So great was the virtue of the young man that Saint Euthymius the Great, his fellow struggler, even nicknamed him the “child-elder”. After the death of Saint Euthymius, Saint Sava moved to a cave near the monastery of Saint Gerasimos of Jordan. After some time, monks began gathering around him and Saint Sava prayed for direction from the Lord. A fiery pillar appeared before the Saint and directed him to a cave in the form of a church which still exists today. The Saint performed many miracles, including bringing forth a spring in the middle of the barren desert (the river still flows abundantly today) as well as planting a date palm tree, which its leaves are boiled and served as tea to barren women who miraculously conceive through the intercessions of the Saint. Before his repose, the Saint compiled the first monastic Rule called the “Jerusalem Typicon” which was accepted by all Palestinian monasteries. May he intercede for us always + #saint #sava #savva #savas #savvas #saintsava #sanctified #monastery #military #young #monk #monastic #wonderworker #marsaba #elder #jerusalem #holyland #holylands #jordan #jordanriver #ascetic #asceticism #wonderworker #palmtree #palm #river #spring #orthodox (at Mar Saba) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYn29aJmxh/?igshid=1jk5ujrgapzsd
